Love Next Door

the please don't be in love with someone else chapter

It is one of those days where Seri feels all over the place and overwhelmed to the point that she just wants to curl up under a blanket, eat some ice cream, and cry, but her responsibilities are demanding for her attention all at the same time that she is one phone call away from a breakdown.

Her tipping point comes in the form of Jeong Hyeok who comes into her apartment with the most obnoxious news that she has heard all day.

"Your sister has been calling me nonstop since last week," he informs her casually, sitting in front of her at the dining table, just as she finishes the Zoom call she had with her lawyer wherein she detailed the crime another company committed against hers. "I have been trying to find the right words to gently tell her to piss off, but I am coming up empty. Can you help me?"

She gives him a weak smile and puts away her laptop to deal with the paperwork she had brought home the night before. "She must have gotten your number through her assistant," she says a bit absentmindedly. "If you want to go, you should go. I am kind of not in the mood to pretend I like her over brunch. Besides, the invitation was extended to you alone. You were just kind enough to include me in the conversation."

He quietly studies her before saying, "You know you never really told me about your family."

"There's nothing to talk about," she instinctively answers before taking a pause. She lifts her eyes up to meet his pointed stare and sighs, knowing that she cannot avoid the subject forever. "Let's just say that I am the black sheep of the family and leave it at that. I'm sorry that I haven't told you, but... I get sad when I talk about them and I am happy whenever I am with you. It just doesn't go together. I don't want any of that sadness to taint what we have."

The way he looks at her feels as if he can see right through her that she pulls her gaze away. "What do we have, Seri?" he asks in a gentle tone, warm and hopeful, bringing up a delicate subject that she didn't want to tackle at that particular moment. "We've never really talked about that either."

Knowing that she will cry if she taps into her vulnerable side, she chooses to be angry instead. "Why are you bringing this up right now?" she turns the question to him. "Is it because my sister intrigues you? Is it because you want to know where we stand before you go on that date with her? Okay, then here's my answer. We're friends. If you want to fall in love with her, be my guest."

No, I don't mean that. Don't fall in love with her, Jeong Hyeok. Please. It will kill me.

She stands up and heads to the kitchen sink for a glass of water. "If you are worried about breaking the pact that we made years ago, don't be," she continues to say, willing her hands to stop shaking underneath the tap. "We were both drunk and stupid. Besides, you're not even thirty yet, so you still have time to find the right one before you settle for me. So... just go."

He doesn't say anything for the next minute that every second feels inexplicably long. She turns around to find him looking down at his hands on his lap. "I... I didn't realize that you felt that way," he says when he finally finds the words, looking up with heartbreak clearly written in his features that she wants to erase the whole conversation and start over. "Is that what you want?"

"Do what you want to do, Jeong Hyeok," she answers him. Just please don't make me watch.

"Fine, then," he says, standing up from his seat. "I'll go."

"Fine."

"Fine."

The door quietly clicks shut on his way out, but she wishes he had slammed it in anger instead.

Work keeps her mind occupied well into the evening and helps her not overthink their fight. When she finds herself with nothing left to do, she cooks her favorite meal for dinner, but it isn't enough to fill the hollow space inside her. She turns the radio up, turns it off, turns the volume of the cheesy Netflix movie up, turns it off. Then, finally, she gives up the act and calls her sister.